Genesis Simple Sidebars vs Homepage Control (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Genesis Simple Sidebars
10K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Genesis Simple Sidebars has a higher user rating (4.4/5 from 27 reviews) and leads in active installations (10K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Genesis Simple Sidebars has accumulated 475K+ total downloads while Homepage Control has 337K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Genesis Simple Sidebars | Homepage Control | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.4/5 | ◄ | 4.2/5 |
| Total Reviews | 27 | ◄ | 19 |
| Active Installs | 10K+ | 10K+ | |
| Total Downloads | 475K+ | ◄ | 337K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 4 months ago | ◄ | 5 years ago |
| First Released | 2010 | 2014 | |
| Age | 16 years | 12 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.7.3+ | 3.8.1+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.2.3 | 2.0.3 |
Rating Breakdown
Genesis Simple Sidebars
Homepage Control
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Genesis Simple Sidebars averaged approximately 24 daily downloads while Homepage Control averaged 7.
Recent Reviews
Genesis Simple Sidebars Reviews
Works as Stated
On a Genesis site, Britlish.com, the plugin works exactly as described right out of the box.
Great, clean functionality
… but it seems to only support child pages in one layer (1. generation). Sub-sub-pages are not supported when “child pages” are clicked.
Doesn’t Work
You can create a sidebar, but it won’t get added to the page.
Homepage Control Reviews
Worked perfectly with Storefront theme
Worked exactly as described with several themes including the storefront theme I settled on. You just check which parts you want to show or not and it adds and removes them.
Solved my problem!
Thanks for this plugin, i was not able to remove the products from homepage (actually they appeared twice at me since i “renamed” the product categories) Extremely useful plugin!
Great Plugin
Great Plugin. Works well. No issues and have used it with storefront theme for some years now. Check your theme compatability befor install as i have had issues with different themes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Genesis Simple Sidebars or Homepage Control more popular?
Which has better ratings — Genesis Simple Sidebars or Homepage Control?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.